Chris Prosser: Tune Spree – On 2 Violins (Rongotai Records/digital outlets)

With the economy of the Ramones, violinist Chris Prosser – who came to attention as half of Besser and Prosser with the late composer/pianist Jonathan Besser – here manages to get 39 pieces on one CD.

Now if that sounds like a lot of short fiddle pieces where he duets and duels with himself you'd be right.

But Prosser is smart enough to lean into various dances and traditions (klezmer, jigs obviously, influences from the sources as diverse as the Balkans and Canada) so this is an extraordinary lively collection which speaks not only to his formidable abilities as a player and composer but intelligence in programming such an expansive body of work.

Titles give further hint at this diversity: Wild Town Dance, Rollick, Smug Monk, Caucasian Rift, Dizzy Stomper, Thistle Lite . . .

Highland

Written over the couple of decades, this collection is also perhaps acting as a clearing house for Prosser but also works well as a calling card for film makers in search of soundtrack material.

Recorded cleanly at home, mixed and mastered with Robbie Duncan and manufactured at Stebbings, Tune Spree not only lives up to its title but – despite it being a stacked 60 minutes of violin – never outstays its welcome as it moves around the globe and 19^th century front parlours with original material which, in the case of the jigs especially, can also sound timeless.

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You can hear and buy this album at bandcamp here